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Nitrogen requirement of sugar beet in relation to irrigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

M. R. J. Holmes
Affiliation:
Fisons Limited – Fertilizer Division, Levington Research Station, Ipswich
J. D. Whitear
Affiliation:
Fisons Limited – Fertilizer Division, Levington Research Station, Ipswich

Summary

Three field experiments were carried out on sandy loam soil at Levington, Suffolk, on the effect of irrigation on nitrogen requirements of sugar beet. Four nitrogen rates (0, 67, 134, 201 kg/ha) were examined with and without irrigation. Nitrogen increased sugar yield each year, as did irrigation in 1969 and 1970, but not in 1968 when the soil moisture deficit was small. There was a significant nitrogen x irrigation interaction in 1970 only, but on average there was a greater response to nitrogen with irrigation than without it.

These results and other published data suggest that on sandy soils in eastern England moisture deficit can restrict nitrogen response, and that the economic optimum nitrogen rate is appreciably higher with irrigation than without it.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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